President Janez Drnovsek met European Enlargement Commissioner Oli Rehn in Ljubljana on Friday. Earlier in the day, Rehn also talked with the members of the parliamentary EU affairs committee.
According to a press release from Drnovsek's office, the president and Rehn discussed EU enlargement and the situation in SE Europe.
The pair agreed that Macedonia's recently obtained EU candidate status presented an important signal for the entire region.
Drnovsek reiterated his position that the issue of the future status of Kosovo had to be resolved as soon as possible.
He also touched on Montenegro, arguing that, as an independence referendum was inevitable, it would be better if the government and opposition quickly saw eye to eye as regards its staging.
Rehn also touched on Romania's and Bulgaria's preparations to enter the EU, saying both were pushing hard and that the final report on their readiness would be out in May.
Drnovsek added that his recent visit to Romania confirmed intensive steps were underway in the country. He also noted that it was important that these efforts led to eventual membership and that Europe must not succumb to enlargement fatigue.
Meeting with the members of the Slovenian EU affairs committee in the morning, Rehn expressed satisfaction over the parliament's involvement in EU matters, the National Assembly said in a press release.
Discussing future EU enlargement, the commissioner pointed out that 2005 brought some important decisions in this field.
He reminded that Macedonia obtained candidate status, negotiations started with Turkey and Croatia, and that Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina began their EU journey by signing stabilisation and association agreements.
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